In Honor of the Isles Finally going home...Share Memories of Nassau...

The Islanders lost a tough one last night to the Jets, but the truth is the Isles are coming through a crazy stretch of their schedule going 1-2-1 against the Caps, Bruins, Jacket, and Jets...4 of the best teams in the NHL...and all the games have been battles as here we are in December and these Islanders, who were supposed to be the Whipping boys of the NHL are STILL sitting in a playoff spot...currently in third in the Metro.

But that's not what I want to talk about today.

Today I want to talk about the Nassau Coliseum and memories...

I am so thrilled the Islanders are finally playing REAL home games again and I can't wait to get to the old building again soon...I thought it would be fun to talk about some memories of the old barn...

I will start this off..

The Coliseum was the first building outside of Philly I ever covered a game in the press box. Most press boxes, like in Philly, are very modern where reporters all sit side by side on a carpeted platform and wheel office chairs up to a long desk that runs the length of the press box.

Not Nassau...

In Nassau there are three rows of stadium type seating in chairs right out of a old one room schoolhouse...the desk flips up on the side of you and drops down ....and you don't take an elevator directly to the box...you take a long stairwell the final bit...and they serve hot dogs to the media! That may sound ridiculous, but many in the media will tell you how much they look forward to the Nassau Coliseum press box...

Also, since the building isn't a giant barn the press box is about twice as close to the ice as most other arenas throughout the league...so you don't get that normal disconnected feeling.

My favorite game in that building was the playoffs, April 16, 2007...Game three of the Islanders/Sabres series...This was the season the Islanders traded for Ryan Smyth...and this was game three of the 8th seed Islanders versus the first seed Sabres...The Isles had come out of Buffalo on a win...splitting the first two games in Buffalo.

The Sabres won the game 3-2, but the atmosphere was electric beyond belief...It reminded me of games at the old Spectrum when I was a kid...and it cemented into my head the fact that Islanders fans are absolutely amazing hockey fans...old school hockey fans, who given the chance can absolutely bring it.

And a buddy of mine was at Nassau for the game against Columbus, and even though he is a Jackets fan all he talked about was how electric the building was..